High Aztech

by Ernest Hogan

Infected with a virus capable of infecting any human mind with religion, renegade cartoonist Zapata runs through Tenochtitlan--the erstwhile Mexico City-- pursued by the government, the Mafia, street gangs, cults, and garbage collectors. Original.

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction, Fantasy, Thriller, Cyberpunk, Latinx, Read For School

256 pages, Paperback

First published February 15, 1992

Reviews

[K.J. Charles]

Well, that was unusual. A 1992 Latinx cyberpunk sort of thing, on the premise that nuclear war has turned the US into a crappy fundamentalist failed state, while Mexico is now thriving and in a wild Aztec revival. The book is absolutely peppered with invented Spanish/Nahuatl slang, to the extent it is quite hard to follow at points, in the way of Clockwork Orange/Riddley Walker. It's a fully bizarre extremely fast-moving story in which our MC is infected by a virus that make him believe passionately in religion, and is then fought over by a variety of interest groups.

It is weird. The MC is almost completely passive--he's not even reactive because he spends most of his time either tied up or hallucinating. He's purely a pair of eyes for the story, basically, which adds to the sense of a dream. The world building is absolutely fantastic, with the Aztec religion and the power shifts in a new world where Mexico and Africa (continent rather than countries as per book) are the new powers, and this is that rare thing, an old book about the future where the tech doesn't feel absurdly dated. But I did want more of a plot or character to hang on to for the ride.

NB that this is seriously showing its age. The female characters are all nymphos, there's some objectified lesbianism, unpleasant depiction of a gay gang leader, and some really horrible anti-black racism (which comes from a villain's dialogue but that doesn't make it better). Period piece, overall, though a fascinating one.

[David H. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well, that was certainly a ride. Hogan throws us in deep in a Mexico City (Tenochtitlán) in a future where Mexico is one of the dominant nations following a limited nuclear apocalypse. Our rather passive protagonist is a writer/poet who gets caught up in a pretty crazy cyberpunk setting where the old Aztec religion has been revived (to the point where people get their hearts sacrificed to the gods... and replaced with artificial ones). A virus is released that can change someone's beliefs, which sets off the chain reaction that is this hallucination of a novel.

One thing I especially liked about this novel--the "slanguage" of Españáhuatl where the author combines Spanish and Nahuatl into terms, which really helps give this book its unique settings. There's a glossary in the back, but it was very cuallioso figuring it out on my own.

[Allyson]

I have to say up front that I did not finish this book and that's why I'm reviewing but not rating. My lack of interest and inability to get into this story is what resulted in my abandonment. I really wanted to like this. The concept is cool, and I always like to read stories that imagine the fall of the West and the rise of other cultures as dominant. They bring a fresh and much-needed perspective to the shelves. I also read the author’s note that explains Ben Bova’s championing of this book way back when it was first published and I figured, oooh, a forgotten gem!

Alas, though I kept plugging away until I was a little more than halfway through, I just didn’t see what Mr. Bova saw. Though well written on a technical level, I found this incredibly slow-moving and boring. I kept waiting for things to start. But even when they did I felt like the characters were just moving around and killing time and I felt like I was too. I finally had to admit that I was still just forcing myself to keep reading rather than caring about what would happen next and gave up. Too bad really.

[Jody Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

VERY FUN TO READ!
A delightful satire of religious fanaticism, in fact fanaticism of every stripe, as protagonist Xolotl Zapata careens like a pinball between the various cultural, religious and criminal factions of a world-ascendant Tenochtitlán (aka Mexico City). Infected with one religious doctrine-believing virus after another, the ultimate solution just might be a reality-expanding embrace of them all. Very fun to read.
[There is at the end a glossary (totally not necessary) and a pronunciation guide, which might be useful if not knowing the correct pronunciation would be a distraction to you. I managed OK thanks to long ago high school Spanish.]

[Persy · Rating 1 out of 5]

“I guess even High Aztec needs somebody to take out the garbage.”

This book was garbage. It needs to take itself out.

I have so little and so much to say, but instead I’m just going to warn off potential readers because I can’t give this book anymore of my energy.

[Kate Sherrod · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm temped to just use all the Esapañuhuatl slang I can but should aim to be understandable. This is the kind of post apocalypse I could definitely hang with, provided I made it south of the border in time. A small nuclear war in the Middle East has shifted the balance of power in favor of the formerly colonized peoples of the world. Africa is the center of cutting edge medicine, Asia is still pretty Asia, but Mexico is the place to be for technological and cultural dynamism (while the USA has become a fundamentalist Christian theocracy). This has led to a big time revival of Aztech culture. A major status symbol, to give an idea, is sporting the scars from having an artificial heart implanted, your natural one having been sacrificed to the gods. Yowza!

Our hero is a bad-boy poet-cum-comic book author, who, as the story opens, is being stalked by a murderous neo-Aztec gang mad at him for blasphemy (but "blasphemy" may just mean "an unflattering portrait of their boss") and juggling two girlfriends. One girlfriend turns out to be part of a conspiracy to spread the latest in African- engineered brain-altering viruses that artificially strengthen religious belief and can be tailored to convert people to a chosen faith. The other comes from a faction who'd sure like to get their hands on the Aztec version of that. Our man is in for a wild ride.

I now want to read all the Ernest Hogan things!!!!

[M. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reading this while visiting Mexico City for the first time, amidst social media driven US radical identity politics, and having conversations with Mexico City natives about the multiple positions one can exist in with regard to race and class and ancestry, this 1992 cyberpunk story made for an interesting read. Set in 2045ish, it's rife with themes of origin, racial purity, contradictions of mixed/mestizaje diaspora, and religion and nationality in daily life, taking place in a time when the North American US empire has fallen and Mexico, experiencing an Aztecan revival, is a new global power. We experience the current cultural and political climate through the eyes of a skeptical poet protagonist. There is an annoying amount of fetishized and hollow female characters which I had to roll my eyes at many a time, though the protagonist's straight male gaze forms an interesting juxtaposition when he frequently points out machismo and other cultural-performance-as-legitimacy type stuff... There's also a fuck ton of invented slang, Españahuatl, a combo of Spanish and Nahautl, necessitating a glossary in the back of the book. So, it reads kind of pulpy and campy, and predictably, but at the same time i think it's a pretty fascinating read for mixed race kids like me living in these hashtag times.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

This narrative is chock full of what the author refers to as “Aztecisms”. It’s a slang he’s developed. He does a surprisingly good job of giving it enough context that it makes sense, or at least close enough not to matter. There is a glossary at the end of the book–a rather long one–but I didn’t need it. I might not know what each slang term meant, but I had the feel and the rhythm of things regardless. It didn’t slow me down or confuse me.

The repeated kidnapping of Xólotl is ridiculous in a good way. It’s hilarious and wild. It puts him in touch with outrageous characters, from the head of the Recycling Syndicate (NOT the Garbage Queen, thank you very much!), to the head of a mafia family, the figureheads of the High Aztech organization, multiple governments, and the leader of a dangerous gang. Everyone wants to understand the mysterious artificial virus Xólotl carries, or they want to kill him for some unrelated reason.

Things become incredibly surreal. Surrealism is not my favorite style. It often feels like the author vomited up a stew of random events and images with no overarching reason behind it. In this case, however, it works fairly well. It does a really good job of showing the ways in which various things are affecting Xólotl’s mind–and how his mind is affected is a central part of the plot. It’s a very hallucinatory experience with some interesting philosophical views on religion.

The narrative is a weird mix of first- and third-person point of view. It’s mostly told from Xólotl’s viewpoint, but it’s interspersed with the observations of a mysterious organization that’s using electronic bugs to follow him around. There’s a section where the two flip back and forth very quickly that’s a little dizzying, but somehow… it kind of works.

The milieu is wonderful. There are people who have their hearts removed and replaced with artificial hearts to honor the Aztec gods. There are those who eat tacos made from synthesized human DNA to mimic Aztecan ritual. We’re introduced to the names and identities of many legendary figures. It’s a fascinating read.


Original review posted on my blog: http://www.errantdreams.com/2019/02/r...

[Jillian · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars. Love the setting and language, plot wasn't too deep though.

The setting: year 2045, there's been an "armageddon" so the US is not a world power and Mexico has risen as a primary economic/scientific power in the world. There's been an Aztec revival of sorts, people embracing their roots etc, and thus there's a large amount of Aztec slang/colloquiualisms in the book. There is a glossary in the back and it's very easy to understand the meaning of these words through context, so it didn't confuse me at all, and added a fun flavor to the story.

Then someone invents a virus that can spread religion by rewiring our RNA and some other stuff. Well! Our narrator, Xolotl Zapata, becomes the primary carrier for the Aztec religion virus, and there's a race to capture him by all the powers that be, including the local mob, the trash/recycling syndicate, Aztec religious extremists, the gringo christian Right, Japanese mobsters, the big biotech corporation, and the government. Zaniness ensues, all while our narrator is trying to figure out what the heck is going on.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Flawed but wildly imaginative and worth a read. Something bad happened to the USA, and Mexico has emerged as the world's superpower, with Tenochtitlan (pka Mexico City) as its capital with a giant pyramid at its center. US refugees try to sneak across the border but Mexico built a wall to keep us gringos out. The vibe is cyberpunk, with designer viruses changing people's religious beliefs and triggering surreal hallucinations. Lots of Aztec gods & goddesses.

The language spoken is Espananahuatl, a mix of Spanish and Nahuatl (Aztec). The author mixes too many Espananahuatl words into the narrative, forcing readers to turn frequently to the glossary at the back. I speak pretty good Spanish, but I still had a hard time with it. Anthony Burgess did something similar with his Russian teen slang in A Clockwork Orange, but more judiciously & effectively than this book. Invented languages are fun (just ask Tolkien) but easy to overdo.

[Leo Rodriguez · Rating 1 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this but I couldn't finish it. The writing was all over the place--some errors, sure, but also run-on sentences and excess exposition--and I could not get interested in the plot enough to overlook that.
It was a cool idea.

[Addie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this for a class. It was strange yet thought-provoking. The plot winds more than it rises. Some chapters were easy to get lost in, but then there were chapters that made me never want to pick it back up again. I love the language blending and the view point.

[Kingofspace · Rating 5 out of 5]

Phillip K Dick in Future-Mexico. Frantic and crazy and brilliant.

[Lightwhisper · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you like sci-fi and religion, you'll probably enjoy this book..but I kind of didn't like the speed or the language, but it was different and it's worth to read it 'til the end.

[despina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mad, hallucinogenic, exciting and unexpected. This book is what "American Gods" wishes it was.

[Booknerd Fraser · Rating 3 out of 5]

My God this was a drug trip. A good one, though. A little influenced by Clockwork Orange, but not as violent.

[Ilana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kinda tough to get through and was a bit much at times but still glad I read it

[Katy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I liked the world and the idea of the plot, but the POV character is helpless and unable to make any decisions for almost the whole book, so it got too repetitive for me.

[Casey Hampsey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cool ideas but the story progression was clunky. And the writing of the female characters was frankly embarrassing.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

A TOP SHELF review, originally published in the March 25, 2016 edition of The Monitor

In the early 1990s, a Chicano from East L.A. published a pair of science fiction novels that would go on to receive considerable critical acclaim and make significant inroads into the genre for Latinos everywhere.

Hewing more closely to weird, gonzo pulp fiction and comics than to the more politically active realism preferred by the Chicano intelligentsia, he was for many years unknown to his hermanos literarios. The culturally embedded nature of his narratives likewise made him less palatable to mainstream readers of sci-fi. Both of these oversights are gradually being corrected. Soon Ernest Hogan will be recognized as an essential, revolutionary voice.

By the late 1980s, Hogan had published several stories in Analog and other professional markets, and this success encouraged him to submit a manuscript to author Ben Bova, who was curating at the time a series of novels by up-and-coming writers for TOR. Their resulting negotiations produced in 1990 what is likely the first Chicano “hard sf” novel ever: the widely hailed Cortez on Jupiter.

Two years later, Hogan followed his debut up with the cyberpunk masterpiece High Aztech.

The story line is set in the year 2045, in a Mexico City that has returned to its ancient name of Tenochtitlan, the capital of a country to which Americans now flock due to the decline of the United States. This migrant flood complicates the revival of the Aztec religion, as Christian groups vie with indigenous Mexican beliefs, leading to the creation of biological virii that infect human minds with the ideology of one faith or the other. Xólotl Zapata, a renegade cartoonist, is the carrier of the Aztec virus, and he soon finds himself pursued by multiple groups hoping to stop the ascendancy of Mexico. Yet their plan to cancel out his infection with their own has consequences that they could never have imagined.

Now, I’m going to be straight-forward about something: High Aztech is not an easy read. That’s a good thing, however. Hogan crafted a novel that rivals the bizarrely cryptic genre work of Burroughs or Lessing, that takes linguistic, philosophical, and structural risks along the lines of A Clockwork Orange.

The frame story is an interrogation of Xólotl, but his erratic, ADHD stream of memories is interrupted by commentary from observers, notes from field operations, and other creative techniques for widening the narrative net. While these choices mean we don’t get as much character development and depth as perhaps traditional methods might achieve, for Hogan’s philosophical and politically speculative purposes, it’s a great fit.

Most spectacular, however, is the hybrid language with which Xólotl laces his responses to the interrogation. Called Españahuatl, this fusion of Spanish and Nahuatl (the indigenous Aztec tongue) is at times wildly funny and earnestly poignant, much like the “Nadsat” that Anthony Burgess once crafted.

Sadly, TOR pretty much abandoned the novel right after its publication, doing nothing to publicize a book that they clearly realized was more ethnic than they had expected. Fooled by his last name, many in the publishing world didn’t realize that Hogan was actually a Chicano (rather than a daring Anglo). His full-throated expression of Latino sensibilities within the frame of science fiction is only now being fully appreciated.

[Scott Russell · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Chicano and Sci-Fi original.
You haven’t read something like High Aztech. A future reclaimed Tenochtitlán fought over by various religious factions via a virus in one upper middle-class Mexica artist named Xólotl Zapata. There is action, media gloss and gaze and blood sacrifice tech. Characters like the Televangelical couple for Mexica gods. A Garbage Queen and gangster lord with identity crises. Virus hallucinations, giants walking the land…it’s the book that really shows off Hogan’s recombocultural and Mondo style. Spanish and Nahuatl combine to Españahuatl that color the future better than any Klingon, Sindarin, or the misplaced regional accents that many books seems to have. The themes of the book play out with juice—these are issues we still struggle with, identity, religion, culture—and High Aztech is okay with difference and dissent. There are no rubber suited monsters to conquer, but lurid realities and vivid truths to experience in this future.

[Chriss · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed High Aztec. It was slow starting in the first few chapters and all of the slang terms were a little much and hard to keep track of at times. But, overall, it was a really good book.

It's an interesting premise. The narrative is first person and being told to the reader as if they are a third party interrogating Zapata. The first person narrative is interspersed with the interrogators' notes verifying or clarifying Zapata's movements. So, in addition to the main plot, the reader has an underlying mystery of who they're supposed to be. Good speculative fiction all around.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

An amazing cyberpunk thrill ride into Mexico's future where the Aztec cultural revolution flourishes and viruses are used to spread more than disease. At once humorous, suspenseful, and plausible, I really enjoyed this book.

[Wealhtheow]

I liked a short story of his, so I'm trying one of his novels. If there's one you would recommend instead, please tell me what it is!

[Kris]

Could not get into the writing style.

[LOL_BOOKS]

WHAT ARE YOU READING, MEME?

AN SF NOVEL CALLED HIGH AZTECH. I'M ENJOYING IT.